athletics inside
ISSUE 13 OCT 10 www.insideathletics.com.au
YOUNG BLOOD MEET LIZ PARNOV
INTERNATIONAL DEBUTANTS
THE GREAT COMPETITION DEBATE MAKING ATHLETICS FOR THE MASSES
PLUS:
the ecstacy and the agony: ryan gregson Q&A: LAUREN BODEN making tracks: athletes to watch!
VISIT WWW.INSIDEATHLETICS.COM.AU FOR THE LATEST NEWS
bring on the games! Welcome to the latest issue of Inside Athletics, which we have dedicated largely to previewing the Commonwealth Games. The event has so far garnered a majority of its attention for the organisational nightmares which have plagued it and for the athletes who won’t, rather than will, compete in the event. We don’t shy away from these issues, which we cover in our Last Lap feature, but we devote most of our content to the aspirations of those athletes who have decided to make the Delhi event the pinnacle of their competition year. Aside from the Commonwealth Games, we have two great pieces written by Liam Ridings which in turn explore the meteoric rise of new national 1500m record holder Ryan Gregson and the journey of the sport towards more exciting competition formats. Over the past few months we’ve been extensively exploring our business model to ensure that we make Inside Athletics a sustainable resource for the Australian athletics community. As part of that process we have indentified the desire from Australian distance runners of all levels of ability to have a free online magazine similar to Inside Athletics but dedicated exclusively to their craft. We are proud to announce that on Friday, 5 November that will become a reality: The Long Run will be born. We’ve had a beta version of the publication’s website (thelongrun.com. au) up for the past two months and appreciate the suggestions we’ve received on its development. In the lead up to the publication of the first edition of The Long Run, the website will be officially launched and incorporate the dynamic features and content desired by the running community. The launch of The Long Run in no way means a diminishment of our commitment to the sport of athletics as a whole, and Inside Athletics will continue to be published – keep an eye out for it on the first Friday of every second month. Until then, we look forward to watching our Australian athletes compete safely at the Commonwealth Games.
welcome
See you around the tracks! Tim McGrath
www.insideathletics.com.au
Inside Athletics is an independently owned and operated online magazine which is editorial in nature. Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed in the magazine are those of Inside Athletics and do not represent the official views of any other organisation.
athletics inside
ISSUE 13 OCT 10
inside this issue
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04 making tracks 08 young blood: liz parnov 12 the ecstacy & the agony 18 the great competition debate 24 Q&A: LAUREN BODEN 28 international debutants 33 the last lap
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s k c a r t g in k ma Nicholas hough Image by Chris Lew
17-year-old Nicholas Hough has had a whirlwind couple of months, winning Australia’s first gold medal in athletics at the Youth Olympics in Singapore and demonstrating that he is half a second faster than the quickest men in rugby league at the Athletic All Stars meet. The Kings School athlete set a new NSW U18 record of 13.37 seconds in the 110m hurdles (91cm heigh) at the Youth Olympics and ran 10.62 seconds – one hundredth of a second short of his personal best – in the 100m at the Athletic All Stars. Football’s fastest man could only run 11.10 seconds.
tessa craig
Diminutive Sandringham Athletics Club member Tessa Craig is a promising distance runner. The Haileybury College student recently won her first Australian title, taking out the national U18 cross country championship in Brisbane, having finished second last year.
track stars o
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Steven solomon Image by Chris Lew
A silver medallist at the recent Youth Olympics in Singapore, Cherrybrook Athletics Clubs’ Michelle Jenneke set a NSW U18 record of 13.46 seconds during her run in the 100m hurdles (76.2cm). The Australian U20 silver, and U18 gold medallist in the sprint hurdles, Jenneke is a year 11 student at Hills Grammar School.
Getty Images
Michelle jenneke
One of the few athletes selected to compete at the world juniors who recorded a personal best in the lead up to the competition was Sydney’s Steven Solomon. The 17-year-old 400m hurdler, selected in the 4x400m relay, lowered his flat personal best to 47.03 seconds to place 8th on the Australian junior all-time list. Training alongside national 400m hurdles finalist James Roff, who encouraged him to pursue athletics beyond his participation at Cranbrook School, under the tutelage of Fira Dvoskina, Solomon intends on pursuing both the 400m and 400m hurdles over the coming season.
of the future
thelongrun.com.au
like distance running? then you will love
For all the latest middle and long distance running news, results, articles, calendars and athlete blogs, visit www.thelongrun.com.au
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D O O L B YOUNG Parnov Four years ago Vicky of was the youngest member Games wealth Australia’s Common This time team in Melbourne. or rather, around, the baton – passed to the pole – has been , Liz. her younger sister
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Image by Chris Lew
At the tender age of just 16 years the younger Parnov is already the national champion and has won a podium place amongst her contemporaries on the world stage at the Youth Olympic Games. There’s a big leap from competition between school aged athletes and the best in the Commonwealth, but if nature and nurture are the determinants of one’s self, Parnov has an abundance of both. Athletics runs in the family. Her grandmother, Natalya Pechonkina, won a bronze medal in the 400m at the 1968 Olympic Games. Her father, Alex, was a pole vaulter with a personal best of 5.82m and almost won a place on the Soviet Union’s team for the inaugural world championships in 1983, but to be replaced by a then unknown Sergey Bubka. Her uncle, Viktor Chistiakov was a 5.90m vaulter and her aunt, by marriage, Tatiana Grigorieva, an Olympic silver medallist. Add to the fact that Alex provides not just athletic genes and his fatherly support, but as her coach a shrewd athletics mind which has guided Dmitry Markov, Emma George, and most recently and spectacularly, Steve Hooker, to the heights of world pole vaulting, and it would almost be a disappointment if Liz wasn’t as good as she is.
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And good she is. Very good. At the recent Youth Olympic Games, after proudly flying the Australian flag in the opening ceremony, it was only world junior champion and world youth best holder from Sweden, Angelica Bengtsson, who kept her from a gold medal. Yet despite the genetics, the expertise, the professionalism and the results, one senses the largest influence on Liz’s budding career is her sister Vicky. It was all too evident when I caught up to her following her maiden win at the national championships in Perth, where she cleared a personal best of 4.40m, but where Vicky performed below her ability and missed a place in the Commonwealth Games team. “She’s not necessarily another competitor because she is one of the closest people to me and it is upsetting when she doesn’t go well,” Liz said. “But I know that I will be able to speak to her and comfort her after the event and that I needed to do my job now. “No matter what, whether she wins or I win, we’re always going to be sisters and our
relationship is never going to change. She’ll have her bad days and I’ll have my bad days, but in the end, we’re still sisters.” When Liz steps up to the run way in Delhi, it was a journey that essentially started four years prior. “Knowing Vic could do it, it really made me realise that I have a chance as well.”
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d a b y m e v a h l l I’ d n a s y a d d a "She'll have her be end, we’re still sisters." days, but in th
Image by Randy Miyazaki
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y s a t s c the e and
the agon
Before injury, forcing him out of the Commonwealth Games, Ryan Gregson was the revelation of 2010 in Australian athletics. Liam Ridings takes a look at Australia’s new 1500m record holder.
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very smart coach and he has timed my progression really well. “I’ve been running for a long time now, he’s made sure that I’ve slowly built up the intensity and volume of my training for over a decade now. Obviously I had a bit of natural talent as a kid but its taken smart training to let that come out. I wasn’t a 14-year-old who was breaking records left right and centre, Ian and I let things happen over the years and the results came.” By 2009 Gregson had established himself as one of Australia’s best adult middle distance runners. He travelled to Europe to race the circuit for the first time and based himself in London with his manager, Nic Bideau. After breaking the Australian under 20 1500m record (3:37.24) domestically at the Sydney Track Classic in February of that year, was given his first opportunity to prove himself against international competition. “Last year because I had
Image by Randy Miyazaki
When watching Ryan Gregson race it sometimes becomes difficult to distinguish between arrogance, ignorance and confidence. He races in a way that is reminiscent of his boyhood hero Craig Mottram. With a new national record of 3:31.06, Ryan looked to be a serious medal chance in the 1500m at the Commonwealth Games. For the past few years Ryan’s progress has been eagerly followed by distance running enthusiasts, both in Australia and the world over. At the tender age of 17, the local of Bulli, just south of Sydney, went from an exciting junior to an overnight phenomenon. He broke the Australian under 18 1500m (3:43.84), 3000m (8:01.26, also an U20 record) and 5000m (14:14.00) records within the space of a month. Looking back, Ryan admits there were no secrets to his break. “All credit has to go to Ian Hatfield [Ryan’s coach/trainer]. He is a
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run some fast times at a young age, I got into some pretty big races. I was thrown in the deep end and it showed. I wasn’t ready and I wasn’t able to be competitive. My confidence took a bit of a blow, I was out the back door in a lot of races and I really got exposed. “Last year I didn’t believe in myself enough. I was going straight to the back and staying at the back- which is probably where I belonged but I didn’t really give myself a chance with that kind of attitude.” The 2009 world championships in Berlin was Ryan’s first taste of senior international competition. “World champs didn’t really turn out the way I had hoped. “I guess I talked myself out of it before the race had started. I remember looking at the start list and seeing Bernard Lagat and a few other big names and I just didn’t back myself. I went to
the front and tried to be as confident as possible but I just didn’t have the gears when the race really started with a lap to go”. Despite a disappointing result, Ryan left Europe hungry for Commonwealth Games success the this year. “I remember when Jeff Riseley came back from Rome Golden League last year where he ran 3.32 and I was sort of in awe of him. I looked at him and I thought ‘I want to be able to run that fast’. I also realised just how professional and dedicated I had to be in order to be successful.” Ryan’s goals for 2010 were simple: to be competitive. “Obviously everyone wants to run fast, but that’s not my primary goal this year. I want to run up the field. I just want to be as competitive as I can every time I step on the start line and I know that if I do that then the times will take care of themselves.”
athletics thletics 15 Gregson was selected in both the 800m and 1500m for the Commonwealth Games. “I definitely prefer the 1500m. I think if I went purely to 800m then I’d be wasting a lot of strength. I can’t run a really good 400m out of the blocks which I think you need to be able to do that to run a really good 800m. I definitely prefer the 1500m, I like the fact that you get to jog around for a few laps and it gets exciting towards the end. I think the crowd also appreciates the prestige of the metric mile, it’s one of the blue ribbon events.” “I don’t really have any time goals over the next few years. I want to be able to line up for any race and know that I can be competitive. I know that if I can be competitive in any race that I am going to win a few, hopefully that will be a big one. To get an Olympic medal everything has to go right. I want to be as competitive as I can and hopefully the day of the Olympics is a day that I can be competitive.”
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With the Commonwealth Games only weeks away and 3.31.06 under his belt and ranked third fastest Commonwealth athlete in the world this year behind Kenyan’s Silas Kiplagat (3:29.27) and Augustine Kiprono Choge (3:30.22), Gregson came down with a stress fracture, forcing him to withdraw from the Australian team. “Obviously I’m devastated,” said Gregson. “If I had of arrived in Delhi healthy I know I would have done something special. “But that’s part of the game, staying healthy.” With fellow miler Jeff Riseley also out of the Commonwealth Games due to injury, and strict qualifying criteria in place for next year’s world championships, the excitement expected of Delhi will play out on athletics tracks around Australia in the upcoming domestic season.
s a w o h w d l o r a e y 14 a “I wasn’t n e p p a h s g in h t t e l I d Ian an
Typical Training Week Monday: AM: 60min PM: 40min and strides Tuesday: AM: 8x1km reps off short recovery PM: 40min Wednesday: AM: 60min PM: 40min Thursday: AM: 30min threshold run (Heart Rate based) PM: 40min Friday: AM: 60min Saturday: AM: Hill Reps PM: 40min Sunday: AM: 1hr 45min
e, r t n e c d n a t h ig r t f e l s breaking reacrosrdasnd the results came� n over the ye
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By Liam Riddings
Images by Chris Lew Words by Liam Ridings and Tim McGrath
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the great
on i t i t e p m co
Citius, Altius, Fortius. Faster. Higher. Stronger. And we aren’t talking about athlete performance. We’re talking about how our sport is presented.
debate
athletics thletics 19 In a time poor society, drawn out meets will become a thing of the past and highlights will be accentuated by theatrical presentation, resulting in a stronger, commercially viable sport. That’s the theory anyway, but has anybody hit upon the right formula? “We insist that meetings are no longer than two hours,” said European Athletics Association vicepresident José Luis de Carlos. “It’s no longer useful to have meetings that are three or four hours long because European Athletics meetings are fighting with other sports and other spectacles for the attention of the TV viewer, who has many options that were not there a decade ago. “We have to improve event presentation and get meeting organisers thinking hard about this issue.” What does this mean to Australia’s best
performing athletics meet – the Sydney Track Classic – which has a three and a half hour long program that even includes a 5000m walk? Perhaps the recent Athletic All Stars meet – conducted by the same set of key officials from Athletics NSW but under a much different brief from meet director Hayden Knowles than comes from Athletics Australia, gives an insight. The All Stars meet proved to be the biggest athletics spectacle since the Sydney Olympics which was coincidently celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Rolls
Royce Phantom, Stretch Hummers and Harley Davidson entrances to the track set the theme for the night. The All Star Challenge was perhaps not an event for athletics purists, but it did however bring athletics to the masses in an exciting format. The star of the night was Usain Bolt and whilst he did not race against Australia’s fastest footballer’s he did participate in the ‘Celebrity Relay’anchoring the aptly named ‘Team Bolt’. Bolt received the baton in second place - it was then he started celebrating. Within
Broadcaster Alan jones described bolt as being ‘right at the top of the tree’ in terms of sporting stars
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jeremy roff won the albie thomas mile breaking the magical 4 minute banner.
three or four strides he had the lead and then continued his celebrations - much to the delight of the crowd. The question remains whether the crowd was there for an athletics meet or to see a celebrity? Then again, does it really matter? The feature event of the night was the ‘Gatorade Bolt’ which despite the absence of Usain Bolt was the most eagerly anticipated event of the evening. Wallabies winger, Lachie Turner, showed up league’s fastest men to take out the event in 11.10 seconds. Jarryd Hayne couldn’t live up to his Nike body suit and pre
race expectations running 11.20 to finish in third. The underwhelming results of the Rugby League players perhaps highlights the fish bowl mentality of the NRL - the men who are often praised as the most athletic men in Australian sport all, except for Turner, fell short of Melinda Gainsford-Taylor’s Australian record for women - of 11.12 seconds. The Albie Thomas Mile provided Commonwealth Games bound Jeremy Roff to blow out the cobwebs and fine tune his commonwealth
Games preparation. Roff Participated in what was more or less a time trial. Training partner Dave Byrne took Jeremy to 600m in 1:27, before James Nipperess took over pace making duties, when Byrne stepped off the track, leading Roff to the bell in 3.01. Roff was able to lift over the final 400m in cold and blustery conditions to finish in 3:59.79 - a good run in tough conditions. “The race was toughconditions aren’t great but it was just awesome to be a part of this event. I can honestly say that’s the first time I’ve rocked up to the track in a limo,” said Roff. Perhaps the most outstanding performance of the night came in the David Baxter Memorial 100m. 16 year old Youth Olympic Games 110m hurdles champion, Nicholas Hough, showed his class to record 10.63 into a 0.6 m/s headwind against older and more experienced comepitition.
athletics thletics 21 “It was such a buzz to run in front of a big crowd at home, I’m really humbled to win,” said Hough. Fabrice Lapierre also added some class to the event. Lapierre, who has been gaining attention lately for his reluctance to confirm his participation at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi next month, fell well short of the Australian record and his own personal best - even with John Steffensen on the microphone rallying the crowd for his jumps. “It wasn’t really ideal jumping conditions tonight. It was great to
Jon steffenson gets on with usain bolt like a house on fire.
be a part of this event- the crowd was fantastic and it would have been≠ nice to jump something big.” Dani Samuels took out the discus in 61.90m ahead of Olympic champion Stefanie Brown-Trafton and former world champion
matt shirvington interviews upcoming NSW sprinter nicholas hough.
Beatrice Faumuina, whilst former world youth representative and now first grade rugby league player, Jamal Idris, managed to throw the 1kg discus 63.77m. Commonwealth Games bound Dale Stevenson recorded a personal best of 19.99m in the shot put, agonisingly short of the 20 metre barrier. The meet presented some good ideas with all the athletes praising the event as an excellent initiative. However it lacked execution and failed to excite at times with agonisingly long waits between events and a commentator determined to speak
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at crucial moments as athletes made attempts. Track and field events were not staged simultaneously which made for some dull moments. The crowd started to trickle out after the Gatorade Bolt 100m, which meant some of the best performances of the evening, in particular the Albie Thomas Mile and Dani Samuels went relatively unnoticed as they were some of the last events of the evening.
at least since Elliott, can’t make the team because Alan Jones – Radio he was injured and they broadcaster wouldn’t pick him. “Athletes come to me “The crowd’s good, but its not the type of crowd and say there are real, deep seated problems you would expect with here. For example, at the a person the calibre of Commonwealth Games Usain Bolt. That’s the we aren’t sending a disappointing feature. “Given what track and women’s 4x100m relay field is in this country, its team. There’s all of those girls here tonight who a tremendous success. WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY
“Track and field is at the bottom of the birdcage, it has serious, serious problems.” I suppose you have to compare it to what it normally is. Track and field is at the bottom of the birdcage, it has serious, serious problems. Administratively it doesn’t look after its athletes. You have people like John Steffensen who is on the outside because he wants answers to legitimate questions. You have Craig Mottram, the greatest middle distance runner we’ve ever had,
were running tonight. They are young and promising – send a relay team! Give the experience and invest in them. So compared where track and field is, to think that at this hour of the night that they are still sitting here, when all the big stuff is finished, it’s been a success in that set of circumstances.” John Steffensen – Commonwealth Games 400m champion “It’s good to see athletics
athletics thletics 23 in a different light. It’s great to see people out here and hopefully track and field can move forward and make a change. “Obviously you’ve seen what I’ve said in the paper and this is what I’m talking about. We’ve worked very closely with Hayden Knowles with this meet and I’ve had nothing but support with him and this is what I’m talking about with our Federation – allowing
elite athletes to have input so that they can create events like this.” Tamsyn Lewis – 3 time Olympian “I’m hoping they do something more like this during the athletics season. I think Athletics Australia could learn quite a lot from what Hayden has put on here, with mixing some of the sports up with the footballers race. It’s really exciting, you’ve got to change it up to
keep the fans coming.” Matt Shirvington – Former sprinter, now TV presenter “Athletics needs flamboyance, enthusiasm and also there were people out here who have never been to an athletics meet before and that’s what it’s really about, to bring it to the people who don’t experience it and don’t have the passion for it- that’s what this event’s all about.”
lauren boden
q&A
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You competed at the last Commonwealth Games, where you were one of the youngest members of the team. How much do you feel you have developed as an athlete since then? The 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games was my first senior Australian team and I had the best time of my life. I was one of the babies of the team but being surrounded by older and more experienced athletes helped me to grow up and mature. Since Melbourne, I have been to World Juniors, World Cup, two World University Games and the inaugural Continental Cup and these major competitions have all contributed to my development as an athlete. I am more grounded and realistic now and I think that I prepare for competitions in a more mature and calm way now. I’ve just tried to make the most
lauren was undefeated in the 400m hurdles during the domestic season.
of any opportunity I get and learn from it in the most positive way.
at the time I was disappointed. In 2007 I started doing some specific long jump training, as opposed to What have been my 400H training and your highlights and competed at the World lowlights since the Uni Games in Thailand last Comm Games where I jumped a and how have they massive PB of 6.40m and influenced you as an finished 6th. That was a athlete? really great comp. In 2009 I had a good A few months after season, running a world Comm Games I went champs B-qualifier and to World Juniors in Beijing where I put a lot PB the week before nationals. Unfortunately of pressure on myself to perform well. I really I was beaten at nationals wanted to make the final and subsequently went to Europe chasing but ended up finishing more qualifiers and 12th overall, which, in then not getting picked the scheme of things is a solid performance, but for World Champs. Losing nationals by
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such a small margin (.06) shattered me but I tried to be positive in my first trip to Europe and ended up having some good experiences, mostly learning what to do/not to do for future years. After World Champs was over I was already focused on 2010 Comm Games and I think that is why the 2009/10 season was my best so far. Running sub-56sec for the first time was a major highlight this year, as well as winning Nationals, running multiple ‘A’ qualifiers
for Comm Games and then winning the Osaka GP in a massive PB of 55.25. Being selected for my second Commonwealth Games is the biggest highlight for me since Melbourne 2006!
To be honest, no! It is not a specific goal to win National titles but it is obviously great to have won 5 still by age 22! It is always a goal between myself and my coach Matt Beckenham, to win nationals to A lot of people might help ensure selection not realise that you for the next major championship and make have won 5 national sure that we follow the titles in the 400m hurdles, second only selection criteria and do everything right to be to Debbie FlintoffKing, who has won 7. Is selected! For Matt and I, the domestic season that something that you are particularly is very important to aware of or have as a support and also to run well at nationals, but goal?
Lauren flanked by fellow national 400m hurdles medallists Tamsyn Lewis and Lisa Spencer
the ultimate goal is to run well in Europe in prepare in the best way possible so that I can peak at the next major championship on the international calendar. You’ve only had the opportunity to race Jana PittmanRawlinson, and more recently, Tamsyn Lewis, on a handful of occasions over the past few years. Does the level of domestic competition in your event make it difficult to find motivation during the domestic season? How do you combat that? Not at all! I am a very intrinsically-driven athlete and I love racing no matter what the situation. I treat all competitions that same, regardless of who else is on the startline. I do most of my hurdles sessions by myself so when that situation comes up in a race I am familiar with it. Similarly, I know that
Lauren clears the final hurdle on the way to her fifth national title
when I have great athletes around me, like Jana and Tamsyn, that we can push each other and I can get the best out of my race. I figure, if you can run fast times in any conditions, in a race with not many athletes, when you get into a full race with great competition, you know you’re going to run fast! I just try to look at each race in a positive way and get everything I can out of myself each time I step out on the track!
Delhi Commonwealth Games are to make the final, win a medal, and to break 55-sec in the final. If I do this then I will have an A-qualifier for 2011 World Champs, which will mean I can train hard through the Australian domestic season, come out and win Nationals and then go to Europe with a strong base to really make an impact at World Champs. In Daegu my goal is to make the final, and then for 2012 London Olympics I am What are your goals aiming to make the final for the Commonwealth there and then who Games? And the knows, once you’re in coming years? the final anything can happen! My goals for the 2010
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International
The latest members of the Aus
Amanda bisk age: 24 Pole vault pb: 4.40m
jacob groth age: 24 4x100m pb: 10.44
melissa breen age: 21 100m pb: 11.33
jef hunt age: 28 marathon pb: 2:11:00
l debutants
stralian Track and Field team
hayley butler age: 26 100m hurdles pb: 13.25
kaila mcknight age: 24 1500m pb: 4:08:78
lisa flint age: 25 marathon pb: 2:34:08
joanne mirtschin age: 30 shot put pb: 16.57m
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kevin moore age: 20 4x400m pb: 46.13
dale stevenson age: 20 shot put pb: 19.99
liz parnov age: 16 pole vault pb: 4.40
olivia tauro age: 20 4x400m pb: 53.21
International
The latest members of the Aus
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Ben st lawrence age: 29 5000m pb: 13:25.88
michael shelley age: 26 marathon pb: 2:13.05
tim driesen age: 26 hammer throw pb: 68.57
julian wruck age: 19 discus pb: 61.02
l debutants
stralian Track and Field team
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The last lap!
With TIM MCGRATH
The end of an era? In its heyday it was stated that the sun never sets on the British Empire. Those days are long gone. And it can now be stated that the sun is setting on the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth of Nations, a collection of countries which overwhelmingly bear the mark of British colonialism, meet half way through an Olympiad for their own Games. That the British Empire is a historical relic of half a century ago, is not entirely the reason for the event’s decline, but the geopolitical climate is no doubt a factor: African nations – a majority of Britain’s former colonial conquests, and hence the makeup of the Commonwealth – look as much towards African solidarity as they do to their former
colonial masters, whilst for nations of the British Isles – the foundation of the Commonwealth itself – Europe is the focus of their future. Such is reflected in their sporting ambitions, and with athletics the foundation of all sports the relevance of the discipline is intrinsically linked to that of a multisport event such as the Commonwealth Games. In athletics terms, Australia, New Zealand and Carribean nations are in a league of their own this time around, for all other nations of
the Commonwealth have already participated in their most important championships of the year: the African championships and the European championships, as the case may be. This is no more highlighted by the absences from the event, which make for much more impressive reading than the attendees. Usain Bolt, David Rudisha, Asbel Kiprop, Phillips Idowu, Asafa Powell, Jessica Ennis, Dani Samuels and Christine Ohuruogu
World discus champion Dani samuels will be greatly missed from the australian team.
thletics 33 athletics
will not compete in the event. Some of this is due to the October timing of the Games, coming at the end of a long season. Some further to the choice of India as the host and the inability of that nation to deliver suitable infrastructure amid corruption and terrorism concerns. Yet the previous mentioned factors speak volumes of either the stature of the event or the quality of its organisers: no reputable world class event would bear the incompetence that has dogged the event.
Domestically the event does not have the conviction of Australians as it once did. From athlete withdrawals in the shape of boycott against their national sporting organisation (John Steffensen) or in fear for their safety (Dani Samuels), it is difficult to see that either athletes or administrators at any level would allow for the circumstances to evolve where such decisions are plausible, or even reasonable, if it were a world championship or Olympic Games in contemplation. Even the selections of Athletics
Australia for the event are a telling tale: such scant regard is given to a high placing in the Commonwealth Games that an athlete ranked fifth in their event but well below world standard, such as decathlete Stephen Cain, can be left off the team without public comment. The Commonwealth Games were a world class event, when the world was a smaller place. It has been a pathway to greater things as the world expanded. But for how much longer?
Tamsyn lewis, world indoor 800m champion, withdrew from the team, sighting poor form as the reason why.
athletics inside
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